Monday, 8 April 2013

What rhymes with Hunt?

The right honourable Jeremy Hunt M.P. said a few weeks ago
that NHS Trusts must not sign ‘gagging orders’ with whistleblowers. That’s
where someone who exposes wrong-doing at a hospital has to leave their job in
return for a big fat cheque from the taxpayer but then has to give a binding
promise that s/he won’t talk about the wrong-doing that hurt the patients.

In the Daily Telegraph 6/4/13 we see the real value of his
words.

Last week, the commissioning of health services moved from
Primary Care Trusts (all the staff now made redundant at a cost of £2 Billion
of taxpayers money) to Clinical Commissioning Groups of local Doctors. This is
what the paper exposed;

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE!

t

STOP
PRESS!

By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent

The extraordinary restrictions placed on staff at more than
200 GP practices have been drawn up by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs),
which took responsibility for the NHS budget on Monday.

The decisions were taken even though Jeremy Hunt, the Health
Secretary, last month said any clauses which stopped staff from speaking about
patient safety or care should be banned.

Documents seen by the Daily Telegraph show that CCGs covering
swathes of the country have issued hundreds of doctors with restrictions which
mean they can say nothing about the work of their CCG, without written
permission from those in charge of it.

The clauses are significant because the organisations hold
responsibility for most of the NHS budget, and will make crucial decisions
affecting patient safety and care - such as which drugs and treatments to fund,
and whether to close any local services.

NHS Newbury and District, NHS Sutton, NHS Dorset, NHS
Thurrock and NHS Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead CCGs have all placed clauses in
their constitutions that prevent all GPs working in local practices from saying
anything about the work of the CCG without prior approval from the senior
figures running it.

In each case, the constitution had to be signed by one GP
from every practice in the area, representing all doctors in their surgery.

At least five more CCGs have banned dozens of medics who hold
positions on the organisations’ governing bodies from issuing public comment.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, from the British Medical Association said
the clauses were “unacceptable” and particularly shocking given that the public
inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire scandal had just highlighted the need for
doctors to speak openly about their concerns.

The CCGs said the restrictions, which were uncovered by GP
magazine Pulse, were not intended to stop doctors from raising concerns.

A spokesman for NHS England said the bodies were independent,
and had drawn up their own constitutions “as a means of achieving consensus
between member practices on their organisational behaviours”.

There is whistleblower legislation to protect people blowing
whistles.

The Human Rights Act provides protection – it’s called the
right to free speech.

I’ve Blogged before that 36% of the Doctors on the CCB’s
actually have a financial interest in organisations supplying health goods or
services – it is these people that the clauses are going to protect.

In any event;

E

NO GRASSES HERE !

On this Blog there are no Finks, Grasses, Stool pigeons or
informers.

If you get in touch, your secrets are safe with me.

Hush, hush.

On the quiet.

What can you
do?

If you are a Patient; I need case studies of problems
with A and E to force the Care Quality Commission to start an investigation.